Vera Borodina has been named as the EMTA Volunteer of the Month for March 2026! We offer our appreciation and congratulations to her and thank her for consenting to provide us with this interview. She will receive her certificate of Recognition of Extraordinary Volunteer Service at the April General Membership Meeting.

First, Vera, please share with our readers a bit about your teaching.

I teach piano, voice, and music theory to children and adults.

Please tell us how you have volunteered service to EMTA and to our students.

I had the pleasure of volunteering at the Musicianship Festival (printing out the materials and making the teacher’s packets for the festival, as well as grading theory during the event) and MAP Piano (typing down the schedule, sorting and helping to distribute the certificates, helping to take care of the boxes for the event).

How have you balanced your teaching load with all of the time that you have devoted to EMTA volunteer work?

My volunteering doesn’t affect my teaching. My house does get a bit messy though, during the most intense preparation times closer to deadlines, that’s true 🙂

Is there a special memory about your volunteer activities that you would like to share?

I remember being exhausted and hungry after some hours of grading theory during the Musicianship Festival, and then my student came in and brought me a delicious little treat, enough to share with other volunteers in the room. There was another moment when one of the teacher volunteers (Judi) fed me with apple slices, and another time when Mary Beth Rogers came in with cookies for all the volunteers. Those are very sweet memories 🙂

Besides benefiting EMTA members, please tell our readers about any benefits or personal rewards that you feel that you get from doing volunteer work for EMTA?

I love connecting with people, and I appreciate that volunteering for EMTA gives me a chance to get to know my colleagues and learn from them. Through volunteering I learned what an immense amount of planning and work goes into each event, and how each of the events exists because of the effort of many members. It made me realize that big things are possible when you are not alone, when every participant contributes a bit of their time.

Is there anything else that you would like to say to our members about volunteering for EMTA?

I’m very grateful for the EMTA community, where everyone is so kind and welcoming! Through volunteering for EMTA I get a chance to be a part of something bigger than myself.

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Thank you to EMTA member, Rick Asher, for coordinating the EMTA Volunteer of the Month.